Monday, September 30, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013

So it's time for Sacramento, and this is the farthest show that Heather's Herps actually does.

I know, it's still in California... but it takes us around 7 hours to get there, which in comparison, is like driving from Florida to South Carolina, or Delaware to Massachusetts. I'm traversing states here!

And it can be said that Northern and Southern California are different states in their own right. They absolutely have different vibes...

Anyway, I digress.

Photo credit goes to my very talented High School Classmate, Todd Sipes. Click the photo to be taken to his site.

I always enjoy going up north, as I was born and raised in San Francisco, and am a Northern Cali girl by heart. Hippy lovey dovey Greenpeace stuff I actually do enjoy. I like plants and walking thru the redwood forests, I enjoy the wineries and the various types of cold weather SF offers. Even though the Golden Gate Bridge has never been golden, I drive over it often with a sense of pride.

Hella.

And yes, it can be said that Sacramento is not quite as hippy-like as the San Fran crowd, but it is still Nor Cal, and I love it.

The Oldtown Downtown is quaint, and it is just a pretty city, albeit very warm in the summer months.

I'm just looking foward to getting out and about and meeting new people.

I have been told that several people that have been past customers, and people I talk to thru e-mail or Facebook will be there. I am really looking forward to putting faces to names!

Friday, September 20, 2013

So I have done NARBC Anahiem for the past five years, and it is one of my favorites in California. Granted, there are a TON of Ball Pythons, it is just a big venue with lots of cool stuff and cool people. It also has a great vibe, and the auctions on Saturday are always the most fun!

I always say that I will get around the show and take pictures, but usually what ends up happening is that I get stuck behind the booth talking to people.

And that is what I love to do anyway, so it's all good!

I hope to be able to get out and wander a bit, since I have notably been absent from the community by way of not knowing what the newest morphs are, what the plans are for breedings, etc...

Enchi Butter Spider

With the happenstance of my Enchi Butter Pewter, I hope to be able to shed some light on my slight doubt of its genetics. These shows tend to help, as a conglomeration of Ball Python Breeders and opinions allow for easier discussions and display.

Enchi Butter Pastel

I am prepping the boxes, folding up the shirts, and getting ready to see everyone tomorrow. I am pretty darn excited for this year, and I can't really put my finger on why. I expect it to be a great show, and have lots of fun things to see.

Enchi Pewter

If not, at least I get to see some smiling faces that I don't see often, and meet new people that I haven't met before.

Mention your reading the blog, my friend, and you will get a free shirt of your choice.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

So I was in the snake room, and I was just planning on taking some pictures. I snapped a few, and then thought, "Hmmmm... Let me double check some of my holdbacks to see if they are ready."

Really, it was to double check to make sure males were males and females were females... I recently had a run in with a mis-sexed animal that I only checked once or twice that went from "female" to MALE for sure. (Right, Lola?)

NOTE: I quadruple and quintuple check the animals I have available for sale.
I do NOT do so for the animals I hold back. I see one I want, check it once, put it aside.

Holdback.. Sexed female... Maybe I should go back and check?

This is probably not the best way to do things, but I've been spot on so far (plus they are pretty and I get to look at them for a while). But I am also human. (DAMN YOU, HUMANITY!!! -fist shake at the sky-)

I've never claimed to be always right. Never will...

Anyway, I decided to check a few more.

I was going on 100%... until this guy popped up.

I held it back as a female. Apparently, it had a gender change and is now a male.

The quandary is double here, as there is a possibility this guy is Yellowbelly.. But I kept it back as a Super Pastel Lesser (possible Yellowbelly).

I would like to point out that no matter what it is, it is AWESOME.

Crazy bright yellows, the cool white butterfly head pattern, the fact that it hates my guts....

Well, the last part not so much, but still awesome overall.

This is one of those things that leave me debating back and forth about what to do.

I can keep him, breed him, see what happens and stuff...

OR

I can sell him to someone lucky out there and let them play with him.

Quandries abound.

I may just put him on the table at Anahiem and see what happens.

This guy will be on the table as well. Sulfur Mojave for the WIN!

Speaking of which, there are now THREE types of shirts to choose from, and all will be available at Anaheim.

There was a misprint on the black ones, and now the logo is on the back of the shirt instead of the front. There will be a white logo over the heart in the front.

Monday, September 16, 2013

This past weekend, I did a few auctions of some animals on the Facebook page here.

It went well, and two people got a hell of a deal on some animals. I have always enjoyed auctions, and the one problem that I see in it is that not enough people get involved in them. I know I have had people sad that they didn't know auctions are going on...

I am not sure how to market it better, but next time, we shall see.

Speaking of marketing, THE SHIRTS ARE HERE!!!!

The new design is pretty rocking, and the old one is still as awesome as ever.

With NARBC coming up, I hope to distribute/sell lots of them for people to rock them at the shows!

Which one do you like better?

The white one has the logo on the back, and the black one is just what you see here.

Anyway, it's the beginning of the week, and not much is cracking here for now.

Friday, September 13, 2013

So it's been a while since I have talked about it, but getting bit SUCKS.

The breeder male rack has been a bane on my limbs for the last few weeks. I'm not sure what is going on, but I have been bitten (and wrapped!) by two different males from the same rack in the last month.

This one happened last night, and the Pastel Het Clown didn't get to wrap me, but he got close. He let go, and then saw the more appealing and delicious rat that had been placed in his tub not two seconds earlier.

He got me on my vein in the joint of my thumb. I can't bend it well right now, and it HURTS.

And please note that this is due to my snakes lunging out of the tub and striking the first thing that they see that is warm... even though the rat is in the tub, it is behind their line of sight. Ergo, Heather gets bit, not the rat.

YAY!

Well, the rat does get bit, just after I shed a few milliliters of blood. I'd rather that then get constricted to death.

Anywho...

The Butter Enchi and Spinnerblast to Pewter clutch shed out.

I love that there is so much variation in here... It's lovely.

Here is what I believe to be a Pastel Butter Cinnamon Enchi.

Now that it shed out, I think I'm pretty on target.

Here he is next to his sibling Pewter Enchi.

And next to his sibling Pastel Enchi and Pewter Enchi.

SCORE.

Is it a first? I'm not sure. (But sure a first for me!)

He's pretty sweet though.

I'm pretty excited about him.

As a side note, we are preparing for the NARBC Anahiem Show. I hope you can all make it out and say hello! I will have the new shirts available, and if you mention the blog, you get a free shirt! (As long as you rock it at the show...)

I will make a few more reminders here and there.

Also, greetings to my Facebook friends! Welcome to the dark side, where I actually do more than just post up things for sale and random photos.. (although there are random photos..)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

So in the last Het Red Axanthic clutch, I hatched out this special little Gargoyle girl.

The rest of her clutch was fine, and the first thing I noticed was the slight kink in her neck.

The second thing I noticed was that she had a truncated snout and large eyes.

She, to me, looked like the snake version of Down Syndrome. It would be interesting to see if this were true, although other than the physical symptoms, I have nothing to base this on (I would love to see if it is chromosomal, however).

I was captivated, as I'm sure she will survive, although I have a sneaking suspicion she is blind.

Her eye as of last night has welled up with fluid, and I will be working to remove it with my Vet.

She responds well, has tongue flicks at appropriate times, although is slightly less responsive due to being blind than most baby snakes I deal with.

Beyond the fact that she looks different, I am really amazed by how such slight variations of the facial structure and so forth leave an animal looking so different.

Bringing it back home to humanity as a reference point, we are all a little different. This girl is too. She deserves all the best, and she will get it.

I am planning on giving her a chance, hopefully seeing that she can thrive, and then see where we go from there.

Will she be a part of the breeding program?

No.

But she will be a trophy animal in the collection until I can find someone who loves her for her differences as much as I do.

What we are also doing is Sacramento for the third year in a row, and it is always a good show due to being back "home". I was born and raised in Northern California, so I am very much comfortable and happy being up there.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

So this clutch hatched out in its entirety on Tuesday, and I am very intrigued about the outcome.

This is the Mystery Males to Pewter (Cinnamon x Pastel) female.

So now I know who the Daddies are.

I have to say, I'm rather surprised, to be honest.

I don't recall throwing the Spinnerblast in there for any real amount of time.

It only takes a minute, eh?

So in that minute, I got 1.1 Spinnerblasts out of the mix. The photo didn't turn out too well, but you can see them. There they are.

And then there were these....

I do remember putting the Butter Enchi het Hypo into the mix, so this wasn't as much of a surprise.

What was a surprise was that EVERYTHING ELSE IS MALE....

Above, we have a Pewter Enchi, a Pastel Enchi, and what I believe to be a Butter Enchi Pewter.

In comparing the Pewter Enchi to the other, it's pretty clear cut to be something different, at least a Cinnamon Butter Enchi.

I plan on taking some comparison shots of the possible Butter Enchi Pewter with last years Pastel Butter Enchi to make sure, but they both need to shed first.

I LOVE the way he glows...

And below, we have the "remnants" of the Pewter influence.

Super Pastel, Cinnamon, and Pewter.

So there you have it, folks.

I also got a Genetic Stripe female to lay for me this weekend. She was bred to the Pastel Genetic Stripe.

The available page is being updated with stuff, and I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. I am still in classes, but on my own schedule (YAY ONLINE CLASSES!), so it allows me much more time to do what I need to do in the appropriate time frame.